Friday Finds #12 – Father’s Day Edition

Wow. It’s been an eventful week around the world, hasn’t it? We lost Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this week to suicide. We need to constantly be talking about mental health and suicide prevention. Take two minutes to check in on a friend today. Give an encouraging word to someone online who seems down. Help others in whatever manner you are able to. We need to be there for each other to help through the rough times and celebrate the good. Don’t be a fairweather friend.

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano continues to erupt, Guatemala’s Fuego volcano eruption – death tolls in the hundreds for both. We need a bit of good news, don’t you think?

Friday Finds for the Week of June 8, 2018

We’re back this week with our Friday Finds for the Week of June 8, 2018 – our Father’s Day edition! Lots of great ideas on what to get dad for Father’s Day and a few treats and tidbits thrown in for the rest of the family as well!

Raised by Unicorns #LGBTQParenting #ChildrenofLGBTQParents

In recent years, the world has been saturated by endless blogs, articles, and books devoted to the subject of LGBTQ+ parenting. On the flip side, finding stories written by the children of LGBTQ+ parents is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. Now that the world is more accepting than ever of non-traditional families, it’s time to create a literary space for this not-so-unique, shared, but completely individual experience.

In Raised by Unicorns: Stories from People with LGBTQ+ Parents, Frank Lowe has carefully edited an anthology that reflects on the upbringing of children in many different forms of LGBTQ+ families. From Baby Boomers to Generation Z, it features diverse stories that express the distinctiveness of this shared journey and of each particular family. It’s visceral, raw, and not always pretty, but love is always the common thread.

Lowe candidly reveals true accounts of this particular niche of humanity, while simultaneously creating a moving snapshot of the world in which we live. Raised by Unicorns guides the reader through an empathetic journey that is nothing short of compelling and poignant. We’ve all heard the phrase “raised by wolves.” Now we have a window into the complex world of being Raised by Unicorns.

This book is perfectly timed for PRIDE Month to enable us to have a timely, important discussion about both the good and bad of growing up in an LGBTQ+ household. Above all else, this book is about LOVE.

Local Events and Readings

If you live in New York, NY or Washington, D.C. you may wish to attend one of these local events:

NYC – Housing Works on 6/15 – Time TBD – featuring a panel discussion with several contributors

About the Author: Frank Lowe is a gay, divorced, 41-year-old dad. He is best known for his acerbic handle on Twitter and Instagram (@GayAtHomeDad), and has worked for publications such as The Advocate, HuffPost, and Gays with Kids. His goal is to bring attention to the world of gay parenting. As a result, he has been interviewed by CNN, CBS, OUT, Ozy, HuffPost, and The Today Show, to name a few. He currently lives in Northwestern Connecticut with his precocious 8-year-old son. You can also connect with him on Facebook.

Several years ago when a friend asked Baltimore cabinet maker Stephen Fitzberger to build raised garden beds to teach Baltimore City children how to grow food, a novel idea was born. He didn’t have funds for the project, so he used reclaimed wood from shipping pallets.

He started a company, Abba Woodworks, LLC, with the main objective of creating jobs and teaching skills to those who struggle finding an open door. “I realized that pallets from businesses around the city were great to use for training and making great re-purposed products while also keeping them from going to the landﬁll. Win, win,” says Fitzgerald. “I wanted to establish a place where you could begin to reclaim your life if you had struggled to overcome addiction, homelessness, or just needed an opportunity because your path was different from the norm.”

In a beautiful, altruistic, and sophisticated new book called Wood Pallet DIY Projects, Fitzgerald’s shares this heartwarming story of giving back to the community and also shows how you too can create lovely wood pallet projects to enrich your home, your heart, and your community.

What caught my eye – and something I truly love is their company motto. “Reclaimed Wood – Reclaimed Lives.” It is their goal to become a strong presence of hope in Baltimore’s downtown neighborhoods. You gotta love that!

Yummy Cupcakes #SweetToothDads

Did anyone ask for a cupcake pie?

Shopping for the right Father’s Day gift doesn’t have to be hard, especially if Dad has a sweet tooth. He’s sure to love anything you get him, because it came from you, but why not give him the sweetest gift – Chocolate Dipped Cupcakes, the new hot item from one of the originators of gourmet cupcakes….Yummy Cupcakes!

Treat Dad to your personalized flavor selection of Cupcakes in a Jar. These jars of deliciousness come in lots of mouth watering flavors from Fudge Yummy to Chocolaty Salty Caramel to Southern Red Velvet.

Your Father’s Day shopping is in the bag with these Chocolate Dipped Cupcakes and Cupcakes in a Jar from Yummy Cupcakes! Yummy Cupcakes use wholesome, top quality ingredients in each one of their decadent creations. With so many flavors to choose from, along with vegan, gluten-less and sugar-free varieties, you are sure to find the perfect flavor for your sweet tooth spouse!

Just Baked Freshness – cupcakes are baked fresh every day and made-to-order.

Check out the delicious goodness at http://www.yummycupcakes.com/ and don’t forget to connect with them at their local stores if you happen to be near one. They love talking shop with their customers!

The BigFoot Seek-and-Find Series

One of the things that I dread during summer vacation for the kids is the summer slide. Parents, you know what I mean. Everything that they learned during the school year seems to just fly right out of their brain cells the minute they hit the parking lot on the last day of school.

I found something that would have been totally cool to have for my boys when they were younger during summer vacations. The BigFoot Seek-and-Find series. Looks like so much fun, I might get the set just for myself! These books would be awesome for dads to do with their kids!

About the Author: The BigFoot series is written by D.L. Miller and, like BigFoot, D.L. is a bit on the reclusive side, rarely seen in public, spending most of his days sketching from his studio located amongst the mighty oak trees only found in the deep dark woodlands far off the beaten path. After spending decades learning the habits of the elusive bipedal humanoid, he has finally agreed to share his illustrative journals that capture the sightings of this larger-than-life creature that has mystified generations.

Check out the fun, educational, and friendly BigFoot on his website – www.ifoundbigfoot.com. Be sure to visit their shop also, there are some really cute items there that your kids will love!

Nubian Heritage Collections for Father’s Day #TLC4Dad

As women, we pamper ourselves with lotions and creams and scented soaps – but dad deserves some TLC pampering as well! Give him one of these luxurious gifts of rich, masculine, earthy scented grooming products with notes of Black Seed Oil, Arabian Honey, Shea Butter, Amaranth Extract and Ginseng!

Nubian Heritage presents the Abyssinian Oil & Chia Seed Collection, the Honey & Black Seed Collection, and the Indian Hemp & Haitian Vetiver Collection. Each are formulated with a unique blend of natural, certified organic, and ethically sourced ingredients. Dads everywhere are going to want to kick back, relax, and enjoy this indulgent experience that these aromas from the collections have to offer.

I received a gift box this morning from our friends at Nubian Heritage – my sons and husband cannot wait to give them a go. We’ve already sniffed and sampled each of the products! Be sure to follow us on Instagram for more thoughts on these products!

Thanks Nubian Heritage for the Collection Samples!

You can visit the Nubian Heritage website here – www.nubianheritage.com – and connect with them on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. Nubian Heritage products are also available at your local Vitamin Shoppe and Nubian Heritage retail prices range from $4.99 to $14.99. You can also find a selection of their products on Amazon as well!

We wish all of our dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day filled with the love. If you are still looking for a great gift for your dad, don’t forget to check out our Gifts for Father’s Day which has our Pinterest board chock-full of gifts as well!

Happy Father’s Day Dads!

Posted with much love,

P.S. I have teenagers who eat constantly so you will find affiliate links to products and services throughout this site. It enables me to feed the bottomless pits or buy myself a glass of wine to keep my sanity intact.

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About Kimberly Miller

Kim is a Family, Lifestyle and Parenting #RVA Mom Blogger focusing on home and family, product reviews and giveaways, food and travel. Kim is raising two teenage sons and has an adult daughter and loves weekend getaways and spur-of-the-moment road trips. She loves cooking, reading, walks on the beach, sunsets and wine. Her dream is to retire to a little cottage on the beach and spend her days collecting shells and talking to the seagulls.